Merge
by Silver2018
Summary: Oneshot. Glitch is about to be hooked up to his brain to get the crucial numbers to turn off the sunseeder. But will Ambrose give them to him?


AN: I don't own Tin Man.

This takes place in the seconds between when Raw connects Glitch to his brain and Glitch says his name is Ambrose.

Float.  Floating.  Hooked up.  Twitching.  The water bubbling all around it, faint greyish-white matter. 

"Glitch, it's time to get reacquainted with yourself."

"Ha ha."

Nervous.  Very nervous.  What would happen?  Half a brain, not too much help.  But there, the other half.  Two halves to make a whole.  Memories.  But not his, not all his.  Glitch.  Ambrose, the brain.  Ambrose, the person all of them knew.  All but him.

"Connect him to it."

Raw's hand on the glass.  Raw's hand reaching towards him.  Raw.  He liked Raw.  Raw never tried to hurt him.  Furrylips.  Sure could punch.  His zipper hurt thinking about it.  Furrylips could really

Contact

Wave after wave of memories, spinning, whirling, twisting.  They nearly took him out at the knees, but his hands, braced on the table, held him up.  Gasp of shock and pain.  So much, too much!  Too much to even make sense of!  Glitch flung himself backwards in his own mind, trying to fit into a corner.  "All right Glitch, I need you to remember something for me."  Far away.  Too far away.  Cain.  Not important.

Everything he knew, had come to know, DG, Cain, Raw, his memories of fleeing and running and - everything - crushed into one another, trying to make room for these new memories.  Dancing with the queen.  Playing with Azkadellia - a very young Azkadellia.  Seeing DG, a baby, for the first time.  He could see all of the memories as though they rested on a viewer screen.  He didn't feel them.  He couldn't acknowledge they were real.

He blinked.  Something stepped out of the screen of memories and walked toward him.  This new person looked like Glitch, except for better-controlled hair.  He walked towards him.  Glitch uncurled from the ground and stood, tilting his head in curiosity.

Not-Glitch stopped only a few feet away, staring at him in surprise.  Glitch stared back at him, feeling a strange, powerful kinship.  He looked so much like Glitch.  "Do I know you?"

At the same time, the other spoke.  "Who in all the O.Z. are _you_?"

Glitch blinked.  So did Not-Glitch.  Glitch grinned inside.  Not-Glitch did everything he did like a mirror image!  Glitch smiled on the outside.  The corner of Not-Glitch's lip lifted.  Glitch frowned.  Not the same, then.  Not always.

Not-Glitch shook his head, hard.  "This is madness.  Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Now that Glitch heard his voice _not_ blended with his, there was no denying the ring of command that came from Not-Glitch.  Except - that was the problem.  He was _not_ Glitch.  He was...he was...

"You're Ambrose.  Or I am.  We are.  But they're not."  Playing with words was fun.  No!  Focus.  Focus!  He was here for a reason!  Cain was waiting on him.  The _O.Z._ was waiting on _him_!  Of all people.

"Yes.  I am Ambrose Crow.  Now who are you?  Tell me your name or I shall call the guards!"

Well this was funny!  Surrounded by memories that were his and yet still didn't seem like they were - and Glitch was the one who knew what was going on!  Was Ambrose really this - brainless?

Of course.  He didn't have Glitch.  Just like Glitch didn't have him.

Glitch lifted his hands.  "My name's Glitch.  Except it's really Ambrose.  Ambrose Crow.  I hated that name.  That last name.  I mean, what was my mother thinking?"  He laughed to himself, not noticing the utter shock on Ambrose's face.

"All right, Glitch.  I want to know what is going on here,"/color Ambrose said in a fierce voice.

"So do I!" Glitch shot back.  "I always figured when I got my brain back, I would just remember everything and be Ambrose again.  But you're making things very difficult!"

"What are you talking about?"

Glitch sighed.  Was this how Cain felt talking to him all the time?  "Look.  I don't know what it's been like for you, sitting here in this tank.  But I've been running around in the O.Z. _without_ you and I can tell you – I hate it.  I only get flashes of memory, which isn't near enough the amount people need to know from me now.  In fact, it was a flash of memory that got me here."  At last, the point of the visit.  "The sunseeder.  How did we design it?"

Ambrose looked - for just a moment - utterly scared and confused.  A look Glitch found himself all too familiar with.  He began to wonder about Ambrose's sanity.  Or even comprehension of what was happening.  He was about to speak again when Ambrose suddenly cut him off.  "I'm not telling you anything for _her_.  Don't think you coming here means I will help you."

"That's just _it_!"/color Glitch shouted, panic beginning to sneak in on his mind.  "I need your help!  DG needs your help!  The _queen_ needs your help!  _Our_ help!  You know how the sunseeder works because you invented it!  And I need to know how to turn it off because Azkadellia has our brain in a tank _running_ the thing!"

Ambrose trembled, his pale face growing paler.  "The queen?  You've seen her?"

"No.  But DG has.  DG's here, in the O.Z. and we're about to stop Azkadellia from locking the suns in the sky.  If she does, the entire O.Z. will be in darkness forever and the only way to stop her is if you tell me how to turn off the sunseeder!"

Behind Ambrose, on the screen of memories, something shot up into order.  Glitch's eyes flicked to it, and then he stared in surprise.  The queen sat in a chair, looking glorious and beautiful and just as he - yes, _he_! - remembered.  With Ambrose right there it was so much easier to remember!

"She tried to steal the plans for the sunseeder, but I was able to destroy the blueprints."  Ambrose's mouth moved with the words.

"She'll come after you, Ambrose," the queen said, her melodic voice alarmed but soft.

Glitch looked at the queen's hand on his arm, and felt warmth on his arm.  He looked down, but there was nothing there.  In front of him, Ambrose looked down at his arm, too.  Glitch looked back up at the screen and let out a little cry.  He was there, on the surgical table, a strap on his head!  And Azkadellia's scientists were counting down.  In front of him, Ambrose was trembling with fear, and Glitch looked down to see his hands shaking.

The screen very abruptly went black, and everything went dark behind Ambrose.  Now, only Glitch's memories shone from behind him, on their own viewer screen, almost putting him in silhouette.  And Ambrose was very bright in the light those memories, watching them.

"I don't remember anything else.  But…you do."

Glitch didn't have to ask what he was seeing.  "Ambrose, they need us.  DG and Raw and Cain and the queen and the entire O.Z.  That scientist took us away from each other.  You're still Ambrose because you remember all of the things I don't.  I'm Glitch, because I only remember what few of your synapses they left me."  He was having to convince himself to help himself!  He had a feeling if he remembered this conversation, he was going to need some of that therapy he had so playfully recommended to Cain.  "Look, I'm sorry if I - woke you up or something with my suddenly appearing in your mind.  But we don't have a lot of time.  DG has seen the queen, and we can free her.  But we need your help."

Ambrose stepped forward until he was looking Glitch in the eyes.  Glitch grinned and held out his hand.

"Glitch, can you hear me?"  Cain's voice again, alarmed, frustrated.

"Come on, Ambrose," Glitch grinned.  "Maybe when this is over we'll even get to dance."

A faint smile appeared on Ambrose's lips.  "If you really are me, I apologize for keeping you hidden."

"Yeah, well, advisors to the queen don't have much time for fun.  Maybe when this is over we'll even get to dance."

Ambrose took his hand.  Both of them shuddered as the memories smashed together like waves.  The screens fell to pieces and everything turned black...

…and Ambrose opened his eyes, looking at his brain.

"My name isn't Glitch," he said.  "It's Ambrose."


End file.
